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Monday, May 24, 2010

Yesterday, Ben met Joe & Brad out in the bay to help bring Pharaoh back to the ball. Pharaoh and crew spent the last ten days at the cop dock, working to get her engine running. Unfortunately, the cops shooed them away before they got the parts back from the machine shop, so she needed a tow back to the ball. (Photo, right)

I spent last night at the hotel while Ben was working, so I was able to upload some of my HD videos onto YouTube. Here are links to some of the Livingston videos that I didn't get to post the other day:

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

This post has been a long time coming. Back in January, Ben bought a 10-foot Livingston boat from one of our neighbors. The boat had been damaged during one of our winter storms so he had to re-fiberglass the bottom. While Ben had plans to fix it up and get it back into the water ASAP, the rain had other plans so it took a few days and a few headaches before it was floating again. Once the boat was back in the water, Ben spent the next few months tinkering with a Honda 10 hp engine that had also been swamped during a storm. Working on engines over the water can be tricky because if you drop a part, it will most likely fall into the water... and you can pretty much forget about getting it back. After a few lost parts and a few more headaches, Ben decided to get an already-working engine instead. So he got a sweet deal on a Suzuki 9.9 hp engine and put it in place. The Livingston was finally mobile! A day or two later, the starter broke and Ben was up to his limit with headaches so he dropped the starter off at the shop to be fixed on solid ground. Luckily, the engine can be started manually while the starter is at the shop.

Last week, Ben used the Livingston to tow Joe & Julie's 51 foot concrete sloop from the mooring field to the cop docks at Shelter Island. Unfortunately, I was at school (actually, that was pretty fortunate for me because I'm pretty sure I would have had a panic attack if I had to be present for that maneuver!) so I didn't get any pictures or videos.

Ben took the Livingston out to the ocean today, and I got a beautiful HD video of him taking off... I'd love to share it but unfortunately my new Verizon internet card sucks just about as bad as AT&T did (no, wait... it sucks MORE) so naturally it cut out about three quarters of the way through the upload to YouTube (and of course it took a good two hours for it to upload to that point) so I won't be able to share it today. If I'm ever near a real internet connection, maybe I can get the video loaded and share it with everyone. For now, we'll have to settle for still life.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Last night we went for a sunset row. This morning when I opened my email, our neighbor Ray (Duke's human) had emailed me some pictures he'd taken of us from his boat. So we bring you last night's sunset row from two perspectives. Thanks Ray!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

On Thursday, we got a permit to anchor in Glorietta Bay. We decided to motor over rather than pulling out a smaller sail. The wind was howling and there was a small craft advisory in effect. Here is a view of the skyline heading toward South Bay... it's a lot different from the view we see everyday from our mooring.

Adam was already anchored in Glorietta, so he rowed his dinghy over and met us just before we entered the anchorage. This was our first time anchoring in Glorietta and since Adam lives on the hump, he knows the ins and outs of all the anchorages from here to Catalina. We took a spin around and found our spot and dropped anchor. We actually dropped two anchors- Bruce on the bow and Danforth off the stern. This is a view from our anchored boat.

Lola and Jasmine relaxing in the cockpit

There is a little beach running along one side of the Glorietta. We took the dogs over to run around and check out the area.

Mother Culture at anchor

Our own *almost-private* beach on Coronado

The girls sniffing for buried treasures

Lola running on the beach

Coronado Bridge

The view out our window

Mother Culture

Rita (Adam's boat)

Mo-C & Dinghy

We grilled some food, had some drinks, walked to downtown Coronado and had another drink at a local bar and on Friday morning we pulled up our anchors and headed back home. Friday was another windy day. On our trip back to the ball, we passed some people flying kites alongside the bay.

This one was a quick trip but we're looking forward to summer, when school's out and we have more time off to take overnight trips.

Before I post pics from our recent anchorage in Glorietta Bay, I wanted to explain the hump. Since I'm new to this sailing thing, I don't know much about it other than what I've been told. I don't know if it's a universal term among live-aboards everywhere or if it's specific to San Diego. All I know is it is supposedly possible to live aboard a boat here in San Diego without paying a fee. There are a handful of people that "live on the hump", moving around the bay from free anchorage to free anchorage. There are a bunch of rules and regulations that I can hardly get straight in my head and I'm still not even sure if it's possible to live this way without actually succumbing to The Man by occasionally paying a temporary slip fee or a fine for anchoring over 72-hours or without a permit. Regardless, the whole idea fascinates me.

Here's what I know:

Mission Bay (depicted by anchor, upper left): Pros: You can anchor for up to 72 hours, any day of the week. It is well-protected here, glassy like a lake. No permit necessary. Cons: Once your 72 hours are up (don't be late!), you can't come back again for 7 days. Since this is the only anchorage in Mission Bay, you have to make the sail all the way back to San Diego Bay (six-ish hours) when you leave here...unless you want to pay an exorbitant amount for a temporary slip at one of the marinas.

Zuniga Jetty (anchor, lower left): Pros: You can anchor as long as you like for free, without a permit. Cons: It is not very protected, making for a rocky ride. Since it is off the coast of North Island Naval Base, you can't dinghy to shore and walk to town. You are stuck on your boat for as long as you anchor here (unless you're bold like our friend Adam, who rowed from Zuniga Jetty to Shelter Island and back last weekend).

La Playa (anchor, middle left): Pros: You can anchor for up to 72 hours, weekends only. Fully protected, it is serene like a lake. You can pull your dinghy up on the beach, with easy access to Shelter Island. Cons: You need a permit and you can only anchor here on weekends.

Glorietta Bay (anchor, lower right): Pros: You can anchor here any day of the week, for up to 72 hours. Cons: You need a permit. There is no dinghy dock but if you want to go into town, you can beach your dinghy and run across the golf course when no one is looking.

Cruisers Anchorage (sailboat, upper right): Pros: You can anchor here for up to 90 days with a permit. Cons: This anchorage is designated for visitors from out-of-town, so it doesn't actually apply to the hump but it's nice to know, anyway.

You are required to obtain permits for La Playa and Glorietta at least 24-hours in advance of anchoring. You are allowed only three permits in one thirty day period. That's three permits total! for the month, not three for each of La Playa and Glorietta. So once you've exhausted your permits for the month, you have to stay at Zuniga Jetty or Mission Bay.

So those are the basics. And as long as you don't mind staying on your boat at Zuniga Jetty a lot of the time, it is possible to live on the hump for free. But for now, I'll stick with my mooring.

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"When beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean's skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang."